When Jessica wakes up, Taeyeon is still fast asleep beside her. Ever so gently, she shrugs Taeyeon’s arms off and reaches for her phone. Jessica’s heart nearly stops when she see’s the text that’s waiting for her.

    “I’m ready for us to start talking again if you are”

    It’s only a sentence, but the fact that it’s from Krystal loads it with meaning. She really hadn’t expected to hear from her so soon. Jessica has to stop herself from laughing out of bitterness; it seems like Krystal has been able to recover from their past significantly faster than she herself has.

    The message was received at a little past 10pm. Jessica vaguely remembers hearing her phone vibrate, but she had been far too occupied with Taeyeon to care.

    It takes Jessica a couple of minutes to think of a response. Afterall, she doesn’t want to immediately scare Krystal away.

    “It’s good to hear from you again. How’s living with mom and dad going?”

    It’s casual, and doesn’t reflect exactly how much Jessica has been missing her. After a second of hesitation Jessica hits send, but then starts typing again a moment later.

    “Sorry I didn’t reply last night. I was sleeping.”

    Feeling satisfied, Jessica sets her phone off to the side and climbs out of bed.

    Jessica moans; Taeyeon’s hot breath is directly in her ear. Her voice whispering things that are pushing Jessica closer and closer to the edge.

    The sound of her phone vibrating on the floor pulls Jessica from her pleasure induced haze.

    “Tae… get off me, I have to get that.”, Jessica says breathily. As much as she’s enjoying this, she desperately needs to see what Krystal said back.

    Taeyeon hums, but doesn’t stop the movement of her hand, “It’s just a text. It’ll still be there when we’re done.” She emphasises the statement by lying sloppy kisses along Jessica’s neck.

    Jessica groans, “I’m serious Taeyeon.”

    Taeyeon growls in frustration, but still rolls off of Jessica and sits quietly to the side.

    “You were asleep at 7pm? Anyway, it’s been good here. Better than I even imagined it being. Mom and dad have been amazing to me. Though mooching off of them kinda makes me feel like a bum :/ How have you been?”

    Even though the message is just small talk, it makes Jessica grin nonetheless.

    “Who is it?”, Taeyeon asks.

    “My sister.”, Jessica says simply. Though it’s the truth, just calling Krystal her sister feels like a lie. But Jessica wouldn’t dare explain their complicated past to Taeyeon.

    “It better be important.”, Taeyeon says grumpily.

    Jessica ignores her, and instead focuses on replying.

    “It might have been 7 for you, but it was 10 for me. I’m glad that things are going well with them. Last time I talked to mom she seemed over the moon about you living with them, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Things on my side are good but boring. Mostly just focusing on business.”

    As soon as Jessica sets her phone down, Taeyeon’s lips are back on her neck, “Now, where were we?”

    Jessica sighs; the moods ruined. All she can think about is Krystal replying back. However, there’s still plenty of unresolved tension in her body. Despite being hesitant, she let’s Taeyeon continue where they left off.

    “You’ve never talked about your sister before.”, Taeyeon says as she pulls Jessica closer.

    “We don’t usually get into personal things.”, Jessica responds without taking her eyes off her phone.

    Taeyeon chuckles, “It’s not that personal. It’s just your sister. I’ve told you about my siblings.”

    Jessica hits send on her reply before setting her phone down, “Things with my sister are… complicated.”

    “How?”, Taeyeon asks with genuine curiosity.

    Jessica thinks for a second before formulating her response, “She was given up for adoption as soon as mom had her. I didn’t even know I had a sister until she came looking for her birth parents about three months ago.”

    “How are things between you two? You seem pretty excited to be talking to her.”

    Jessica sighs, “It’s been tense. We want to act like sister but… There’s more to this than I’m saying, I just really don’t want to get into it.”, She says honestly.

    Taeyeon Jessica’s hair, “That’s fine. I know that we don’t talk about our feelings much, but if you need someone to listen, and not judge, I’m here. I’ve lived through way too much to criticise anyone else's life.”

    Jessica is hit with genuine surprise. She’s never heard Taeyeon talk so sincerely, “Thank you. You, too.”

    Taeyeon hums in acknowledgement, and comfortable quiet sets in. It’s after about a minute that she speaks again, “I was wondering if we could exchange numbers.”, Taeyeon asks with an uncharacteristic nervousness to her voice.

    Now Jessica’s really blown away. What’s gotten into Taeyeon?

    “Uhm, sure. Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in.”, Jessica doesn’t have any problem with the exchange, but it’s strange that Taeyeon would ask this now after they’ve known eachother for this long.

    When Jessica gives Taeyeon her phone back, she receives an oddly lingering peck on the lips, “Thanks.”

    Jessica nods, before snuggling her face back into Taeyeon’s chest.

    It surprises Jessica just how easy texting Krystal has become. They’d been messaging each other on and off for nearly a month, and at some point it  had become second nature. Still, their conversations stayed in, what Jessica considered, safe places. No talk of romance of any kind, and no speaking of the past. Mostly they just talked about day to day occurrences and annoyances.

    Jessica isn’t going to lie to herself and say she isn’t still in love with Krystal, but the thought of her younger sister doesn’t bring her nearly as much pain as it had in the preceding three months. In fact, Jessica even finds herself sleeping in her bed and spending time at her home rather than staying in her office.

    Her wounds haven’t completely healed, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. For the first time since their break up, Jessica can actually imagine them behaving strictly as sisters in the future. Granted, that’s still a long ways off.

    Despite her gradual recovery, Jessica panics the moment her mom brings up going on a family vacation. Talking to Krystal through text is one thing, but  actually seeing her in person? Jessica’s not sure she’ll be able to keep herself together.

    It’d taken a great deal of excuses and begging, but Jessica had been able to talk her mom into settling for just having her home in a California for a couple of days rather than the weeklong vacation she’s been planning.

    “Business is hectic right now, mom. I don’t know if I can be gone for more than a few days.” Jessica had whined and pleaded.

    Even with that negotiation made, Jessica still feels nervous about this. It might only be for three days, but she’ll still be spending time close to Krystal. It’ll be torture, it’ll be hell, and worst of all, it’ll be amazing. She knows all too well that she’ll enjoy seeing her little sister. She probably won’t even be able to stop grinning once she finally sees Krystal’s face in person again.

    The real challenge is going to be treating Krystal as just her sister. No holding her, no kissing her, and absolutely no confessions of her still present love.

    Jessica takes in a deep breath and tightens her hands on the steering wheel of her rental car. In a little over ten minutes she’ll be face to face with her ex-lover again, and she’s positive that she isn’t prepared.

    She isn’t prepared to greet Krystal like the wonderful year they spent together had never happened. Like she’d never felt love, or lust for the younger girl. Like she doesn’t still feel those things.

    Jessica turns the radio all the way up to drown out her troubling thoughts.

    Krystal aggressively chews on the piece of gum in ; trying her damnedest to relieve some of her anxiety without outwardly expressing it. Jessica had called to say she was leaving the airport at least ten minutes ago.

    She's riddled with panic. Seeing Jessica after everything that's happened… it’s going to be strange. The fact that their parents will probably be right by their sides the whole time doesn’t do much to make her feel better. Things are going to be awkward no matter what.

    Krystal’s heart leaps into when she hears the front door open.

    “Jessica!”, Their mother yells.

    “Mom!”, That familiar voice strikes some chord inside Krystal. She can’t even begin to decipher her emotions towards it.

    Krystal watches silently as her sister takes turns hugging their parents before she see’s Jessica’s eyes land on her.

    “Krystal.”, She says with a genuine smile.

    Shamefully, the first thought that passes through Krystal’s head is how beautiful Jessica looks. She’s only wearing a plain t-shirt and skinny jeans, yet it still leaves Krystal breathless. It’s incredible how something so simple can make her heart thump so heavily in her chest. Or maybe it’s not the clothes at all. Maybe it’s just Jessica.

    Regardless, Krystal feels a sincere smile spread across her own lips.

    “Hey, Jessica.”, After the words leave her, she’s not sure what to do next. Luckily, Jessica does the work for her. Instead of wrapping Krystal in a tight bear hug like she had done with their parents, she goes in for a half hug. Throwing her around Krystal’s shoulder and giving her upper arm a light pat before retreating again.

    “It’s really great to see you all, and everything but, would it be okay if I take a nap?”, Jessica asks apologetically.

    Their dad is walking towards the door before Jessica can even finish talking, “No problem, I’ll bring in your luggage, honey. You just go relax.”

    Jessica turns to their mother, “So where am I sleeping?”

    “Well, Krystal took the guest room, so I figured you could stay with her. Her bed is more than big enough for the two of you.”

    Krystal’s speechless; this definitely isn’t something they had decided upon beforehand. She was sure Jessica would be taking the couch.

    “Mom, I don’t want to make Krystal share her bed with me.”, How cool and calm Jessica seems surprises Krystal.

    Their mother rolls her eyes, “Come on, now. I know you’re an adult, but it’s not going to kill you to sleep in the same bad as your sister. Besides, it’ll be a nice bonding experience for you two.”

    Just then, their father walks in; luggage in hand. Jessica follows him, and Krystal isn’t far behind.

    Once her bags are sat down, Jessica starts digging through them.

    Krystal stays in the room even after their father has left, “I’m sorry about this. Neither of them mentioned this to me.”

    Jessica turns around and gives her a small smile, “It’s fine. I know they can be unpredictable at times. Besides maybe mom’s right, this could be good for us. Maybe it will… desensitize us to being so close to each other, you know what I mean?”

    Krystal does, and it kind of catches her off guard that Jessica is speaking so openly and calmly about it, “Uh, yeah. I get what you mean.”

    “Good. I’m just sorry I’ll be taking up so much of your bed space. So uh, would you mind waking me up in about two hours? I want to spend some time with you guys today, and I know I won’t be able to wake up on my own.”

    Krystal chuckles, “Yeah, no problem.”, Just before she’s about to leave the room, Jessica’s voice stops her.

    “Krystal, it’s really good to see you again.”, Her voice is so soft and sincere that it’s nearly reverent.

    It takes a moment for her to respond, purely from how shocked she is to hear those words leave her sister’s lips.

    “It’s good to see you, too, Jess. Get some rest. I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”

    Jessica smiles, “Thanks.”

    Krystal walks out of the room and shuts the door behind her. Before she can go back to her parents, she needs to get herself under control. She leans her back against the hallway wall and puts a hand over her heart; it hasn’t stopped pounding since Jessica walked through the door. The next few days are going to be just as difficult as she thought they’d be.